COVId19? Russia under Putin: COVID-19 conspiracies

The Kremlin has been using conspiracy theories to support its policies for many years. But such views turned against the regime itself during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to justify its activities, the Putin government has frequently turned to coercion, corruption, and extensive propaganda, including the propagation of conspiracy theories. But after the epidemic struck, people had plenty of material for more conspiracy theories to sprout up after years of being spoon-fed notions from above. It therefore encountered an unprecedented level of opposition as a result of the Kremlin's own communications policies. Russians were accustomed to receiving conspiracy explanations for events, therefore they overwhelmingly thought that COVID-19 was just the flu or that the virus was man-made, with the government and corrupt media greatly exaggerating the threat. The majority objected to COVID-19-related limitations in addition to refusing to be vaccinated under the state-run immunization program. Thus, the government's attempts to stop the virus from spreading in accordance with international standards were a complete failure.
This conference, which will be held on December 6, 2022, at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), will center on the murky realm of COVID-19 rebels and how their informational resistance has posed a threat to the political message of the Kremlin. Yablokov and Moen-Larsen examine how state-run communication about COVID-19 has been interpreted, structured, and criticized with the aid of internationally and locally promoted conspiracy theories. Their research is based on an analysis of the Telegram channel "COVID-19 Resistance" (later renamed "Conspiracy Theory"). They contend that the state's propagation of conspiracy theories has little impact on these messenger channels. They contend that this shows unequivocally the boundaries of the Kremlin's propaganda's efficacy.